A rare kiwi has been captured on a trail camera in the northern Pureora Forest's Waipapa block - the first recorded sighting of the species in the area for more than 25 years.
Department of Conservation's Maniapoto Operations Manager Graham Kimber says the bird was filmed by a trail camera set up as part of a non-toxic trial to test a new sausage bait being developed to control introduced predators.
A time stamp on the footage shows the bird was filmed at about 4 am on 25 February, on a camera located in the southern part of the Waipapa Block.
The kiwi is thought to be a western brown kiwi, and it's the first live member of its species identified in northern Pureora since 2000.
Graham says the appearance of the bird is a welcome surprise – and a reward for the hard work of the DOC team who manage species and predator control in the forest.
"We did not expect to have this bird crop up on a camera," Graham says.
"Any native birds in Pureora forest face ongoing threats from stoats and ferrets, and ground-dwelling birds like kiwi can also be attacked and killed by dogs."
Expert DOC staff who have assessed the video believe it is a young bird that has now reached more than 1 kg – meaning it's probably large enough to fend off a stoat. Without capturing and examining the bird, its gender remains unknown.
"To have this bird emerge is very encouraging for our team and the volunteer groups also contributing to conservation in Pureora," Graham says.
"We're rapt our ongoing efforts, including the use of 1080 to control predators, appear to be working. We're taking this bird as a promising sign we need to keep the pressure on these predators to protect our taonga species."
Anyone naturing in Pureora Forest Park – including those in the Pureora Hunting Competition – is urged to report any kiwi sightings to DOC, by calling 0800 DOC HOT. Video and photographs are valuable, as are GPS co-ordinates of where the bird is found or a description of its location.
Hunters taking dogs into the forest should ensure they are trained to avoid kiwi.
The trial in Pureora is part of DOC's research work to develop a 18 g meat sausage for targeting stoats and feral cats. 50 trail cameras were in place to monitor introduced predator and non-target species' interactions with the non-toxic bait. Previous studies have shown the sausages are highly attractive to feral cats and stoats but not to most native species like kiwi, nor to deer.
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